The methods of cellular communications are known and based on three principles:                repeated usage of frequencies in cells;        provision of continuity of communication when a mobile subscriber moves from one cell to another one (“handover”);        continuous determination of a location of a mobile subscriber in an area of cellular communications (see, e.g. Asha Mehrotra, Cellular Radio. Analog and Digital Systems. Artech House, Inc. 1994. 460 p.).        
The diagram of organization of cellular communications on the basis of the above principles is shown in FIG. 1, their combination creates a technological basis of cellular communications for providing services for subscribers. FIG. 2 illustrates a general skeleton diagram of a cellular communications system (see, e.g. Williams C. Y. Lee. Mobile Cellular Telecommunications. Analog and Digital System. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1995, 664 p.).
The subscriber via his mobile station (MS), transmits messages to other mobile subscribers or subscribers of a fixed communication network (PSTN) via a base station (BTS), a controller (BSC) being series coupled with the base station, and a mobile switching Center (MSC) being coupled with a visitor location register (VLR) tracking a movement of the subscriber, as well as with a home location register (HLC) in which one are contained all necessary data on subscribers who have concluded contracts with an operator of a network and received a subscriber-identity module (SIM-card) of a given operator. An operation of the network is controlled with an operations-and-maintenance Center—OMC.
In the structural block-diagram of FIG. 2 is accomplished a determination of a location of the mobile subscriber (MS) within the limits of “an area of determination of location” (Location Area) which comprises a base station controller (BSC) and all base stations (BTS) being coupled to the controller. Within the limits of Local Area may be identified a cell or a cell sector within which is located MS, for example, to provide for a mobile station a delivery of incoming message from a subscriber of PSTN or from other mobile station of the cellular communications system. Herewith, an accuracy of the determination of the location of MS depends on dimensions of the cell, and it may constitute from few hundreds of meters up to tens of kilometres.
The cellular communications system for active mobile stations being registered in VLR, should continuously determine the location, through control and signalling channels being transmitted jointly with traffic channels through network interfaces (A-bis, A, M and others), for physical implementation of which ones is necessary to use radio-relay, wire or optical fiber transmission lines. For example, in order to control communication processes (including connection of MS, handover, a transmission of messages, transmission power control), in GSM cellular communications network from one up to two time slots (TS) which are contained in a time frame (TDMA-frame) being formed on one of 124 frequency channels. (see, e.g. Siegmund M. Rede, Mathias K. Weber, Malcolm W. Oliphant. An Introduction to GSM. Artech House, Inc. 1995, 379 p). Thus, from 12.5 up to 25 percent of a network resource are not used for a traffic transmission.
Moreover, tendencies of developing services of new generations of cellular communications—the third (3G) and the forth (4G) ones, as well as ones of currently active cellular communications systems of 2,5 generation, provide for wide introduction of new kinds of services associated with a location of subscribers. (see, e.g, Juha Korhenen. Introduction to 3G Mobile Communications. Second Edition. Artech House, Inc. 2003, 544 p.)
To such services relate, for example, navigation services, services of an extreme aid, a tourist guide, safeguarding of goods when transporting etc. The realization of these services is possible if to enhance the accuracy of the determination of location of mobile stations which is achieved with an additional complexity of the cellular communications system on the whole, due to increasing hardware and software costs of cellular communications, due to including new elements, for example, Line measurement units (LMU) of A-type being switched via a radio interface to base stations or LMU of B-type being switched via a radio interface to base stations or LMU of B-type being switched to the base station controller (BSC) via the network A-bis interface, as well as due to Mobile Location Centres (MLC). One of the lasts—SLMC (Serving MLC)—serves requests for the determination of location, realizes a final calculation of coordinates and an accuracy of an obtained result, the other—GMLC (Gateway MLS) performs functions of supporting clients. (see, e.g., ETSI TS 101723 (GSM 02.71): “Digital Cellular Telecommunications System (Phase 2+); Location Services (LCS); Service Description; Stage 1.” ETSI TS 122-71 (3GPP TS 22.071): “Digital Telecommunications System (Phase 2+) (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Location Services (LCS); Service Description, Stage 1”).
The skeleton diagram of the cellular communications network with supporting the functions of determining the location on the basis of the additional measurement units is shown in FIG. 3 and is accepted for GSM—standards and practically coincides with an analogues diagram of new generation of cellular communications—3 G (UMTS).
Methods of determining the location of MS in accordance with the skeleton diagram of FIG. 3 are known in the art and are based on data of the cellular communications network, the closest known technique is a method of a cell identification (Cell ID) for which is not required a determination of a signal level or its delay since this is an intrinsic property of cellular communications networks. As main methods of determining the location of MS for GSM cellular communications networks are selected as follows: Cell ID-TA (Timing Advance), TOA (Time Of Arrival), E-OTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference). (see, e.g. ETSI TS.101 724 (3GPP TS 03.71): Digital Cellular Telecommunications System (Phase 2+), Location Services (LCS), Functional Description—Stage 2).
Selection of a method of determining the location is defined by a kind of a radio-access network. In case of UMTS (UTRAN) are recommended methods Cell ID-TA and OT DOA (Observed Time Difference Of Arrival). (See, e.g., ETSI TS 125 395 (3PGG TS 25.395): “Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Stage 2, Functional Description on UE Positioning in UTRAN”).
The abovementioned methods of determining the location of MS on the basis of a cellular communications network require for their realization an installation of additional hardware and software, for their introduction into a cellular communications network is necessary to dedicate additional connecting lines.
Moreover, the abovementioned methods of determining the location of MS on the basis of a cellular communications network do not change general principles of network composing being presented in FIG. 1. The accuracy of determining the location of MS in these methods constitutes few hundreds of meters.
Methods of determining a location of a subscriber are know on a basis of a mobile station when MS determines a location independently of an network operator. To the methods of determining a location on the basis of MS relate GPS-methods or A-GPS (Assisted GPS)-methods, in the last for obtaining coordinates of MS are used data from additional (assisted) transmitters of signals of GPS being mounted on a ground in an area of a cellular communications network.
GPS—global satellite positioning system—was developed and is used by USA Ministry of Defence for providing terrestrial objects throughout the world with accurate information on a location, speed and current time. Orbital groupment comprises 28 satellites, at least, 24 satellites are activated constantly. Analogous tasks are decided by Russian Global satellite positioning system GLONASS. European global satellite positioning system GALLILEO is in progress of development (see, e.g., U. A. Soloviev. Satellite navigation system—M.; Ecotrends, 2000, 270 p.). (.A. .     .-M;  , 2000, 270 c.). The accuracy of determining a location with help of GSM may constitute about ten meters. The accuracy of determining a location is increased when using A-GPS and may constitute few tens of centimetres.
When determining a location of MS with usage of GPS or A-GPS the mobile station with built-in GPS-receiver transmits its coordinates via base stations (BTS) and a controller (BSC) to operation-and-maintenance Center (OMC) through channels of short message service (SMS) or through other channels, in particular, through channels of a subsystem of a packet data transmission (GPRS).
However, in these known methods of determining the location on the basis of global satellite systems the cellular communications network and the system GPS (GLONASS et al.) operate independently of each other. In cellular communications systems for a transmiission of messages, for provision of continuity of communications (“handover”), for repeated usage of frequencies in the network or codes in cells, as well as for controlling operation modes of base and mobile stations, the data from global satellite positioning system are not used. Therefore the communication channels are downloaded, additional hardware and software are used, and the accuracy of determining the location is limited to “a cell”, which dimensions may constitute from few hundreds of meters up to tens of kilometres.
Usage of GPS is known as a source of timing signals, the source being independent of a cellular network, in cellular communications system with code-division multiple access (CDMA, IS-95) (see, e.g., Jhong Sam Lee, Leonard E. Miller. CDMA System Engineering Handbook. Artech House. 1998, 1228 p.), but and in this case GPS and a cellular communications network are not interconnected.
In respect of a technical essence of the invention the closest prior art is a method of cellular communications being realized in a cellular communications system GSM, wherein the data of the location of GSM mobile station, being obtained in result of receiving signals of the satellite communications system GPS, are used for searching and transmitting alarm signals (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,411,811 B2, Int. Cl. H04Q 7/20, the data of publication is Jun. 25, 2002).
However, despite the fact that when using the known method an assortment of communications network services of GSM are extended, the data of the location of MS being obtained from GSM, are not used for optimization of operation of the cellular communications system that does not result in a reduction of a load in communication channels, so the task of determining a location is solved in a former manner on the basis of resources and an equipment of the cellular communications network (FIG. 1).
In the known method the usage of data from GPS for transmitting alarm signals and providing services being associated with a location of mobile subscribers, does not change a structure of a cellular communications network, its basic principles (FIG. 1) and does not replace separate functions of the cellular communications system.